Teaching Tip: Organization of a Professional Teaching Group - 5

Name:

Alicia Palmira García Díaz

Economy:

Chile

School:

Cauquenes English Teachers Network

Subject:

English as a Foreign Language

Tip:

The Economic Necessity of an English Network

Cauquenes is a town and city in the south of Chile. It is the provincial capital of the Province of Cauquenes, with a population of 31,362 inhabitants, one of the principal characteristics of Cauquenes is the lack of a local labor market. There are two large companies, “la Cajonera”, that right now is in bankruptcy and an exporter of Wines whose name is “Lomas de Cauquenes”, which is also in the process of possible closure. The prospective for young people in this province are lacking and a great percentage of students are steered into the army or work in fishing or agriculture.

Considering this anxiety as teachers and considering the challenges that confront our students when they enter the labor market, and considering that we must prepare competent students since they will have to face a competitive world through the process of globalization in which we have inserted ourselves. Great uncertainties raise up in a group of teachers who work in the subsector of Foreign Languages. The objective is to implement ourselves as collaborators, share our pedagogical experience to offer the necessary tools to our students, and raise the level of results in our province. Since in today’s world, and without a doubt since Cauquenes is a distinct city, despite of having structurally modernized education in some spaces and some measures of development, there is work that is pending such as supplying work sources of permanent work and obtaining a better results from tourist economics in the region.

Considering these necessities, a group of twelve teachers in the Cauquenes Province decided to implement a network, now called the English Network of Cauquenes, which has functioned despite several adverse events that have come up. This is a testament to the permanence and high commitment of the teachers and the training of the new members.

The English Network in Cauquenes during consecutive years has allocated all the pedagogical projects financed by the Ministry of Education of Chile which have permitted year to year recognizing and creating new proposals such as: adjusting to the pedagogical practices, plans, and programs supported by the Ministry, and solving challenges considering the low percentage of oral and written expression and understanding.

This team-work, through the high commitment of the teachers in the Network, has permitted that this year a new project that the “English Talent Show” has permitted student to develop their oral expression. Each school has its own show after which the students who are selected compete at the Provincial level. This practice, has meant to our Network the implementation of a permanent practice, with or without financing from the state, and at this time the Network is found working in the area of technology in education in order to use this tool as a transversal during the teaching and learning process in this province so that sharing and obtaining better tools can be make to project to our province a better benefit from the economic and tourist sectors.

Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEQQhYSZkxI